Stuff Mart!

This morning I went to class and whatever, but that wasn't interesting. This afternoon, however, I decided to venture out into Beijing on a quest for Western items that I couldn't find on campus, such as peanut butter. My destination: Wal-Mart. Of course there is a Wal-Mart in Beijing. It's actually vaguely near campus. But only vaguely.

I looked in my Insider's Guide to Beijing to find out where the Wal-Mart was, and I found it on a map before setting out. There were only 2 roads involved, so I figured it would be easy. What I didn't figure was that I'd kind of forget the name of the road I was supposed to turn onto, so I would go too far and have to come back. When I successfully found the Wal-Mart road, I strolled on down it for a while, and it was quite a while, so I asked which was the subway was (because I Wal-Mart was right next to the subway station and I didn't want to be a total bozo American and be like WHERE'S WALMART ITS WHERE WE AMERICANS LIKE TO HANG OUTTT) and it was still farther down and I found the subway station but Wal-Mart didn't appear to be there, so I started walking back and then I glanced up and in a hole between 2 other buildings I saw a sign that said Wal-Mart Supercenter! It took me a little bit to figure out how to get around to the Wal-Mart, but when I succeeded it was awesome. Wal-Mart is a little different here, but not too much. They sell different stuff, mostly, although there were some of the same brands. One big difference is that in China you can buy alcohol at Wal-Mart. You know, the beer department...it's right around the corner from the condiments. Hen silly!

I succeeded at getting peanut butter, although I failed at getting a knife to spread it. It seems to me that they pretty much don't have butter knives in China, just the huge sharp chopping kind. Whatever, I will make do with my lone spoon. Hen hao!

So I figured I'd be a little lazier coming back from Wal-Mart, seeing as I had walked like an hour to get there. So I took the subway to Wudaokou, which is the closest station to campus, and figured I'd just walk from there because I did it last weekend so I should know how. However, this time I came out of a different exit from the subway station, so when I turned right to go to campus like I had last time, it was the wrong direction. I walked in the wrong direction for like 45 minutes, and then I knew it was wrong because I should have arrived by then. So I asked, and sure enough I had been walking east instead of west. Whoops. But at this point I was dead set on walking and too stubborn to change my mind and take a bus or a cab, so I trucked on back 45 minutes to the subway station and then another half hour to campus. I rule.

I had only been on campus for like 30 seconds when I made a friend! I was strolling along and a dude was walking next to me, and he said "ni hao" so I ni hao'd back, and he asked me if I was English and I said no, American, and we had what was pretty much the exact textbook conversation that they've been hammering into our heads in my Kouyu class...he asked me how my Chinese was and how long I had studied Chinese and how long I was going to be in China and what was my major and we talked about China things, and I learned that his name is Zhao Jian (or Alex) and that he is a teacher at a school in a place where I didn't really know where it was, and now we are pals. Hen hao! I want to make some Chinese friends so I'm really immersed in the culture.

It was like 8 or something when I finally got back to my dorm and I had left in the early afternoon...it was a long day but really awesome. I ate a late dinner of delicious vegetable baozi and egg and a 7 up that I had a silly time ordering because I don't know how to say "7 up" in Chinese, but I was like "the green one," and it worked out all right and I told the dude "feichang hao!" and it was full of silliness and we laughed, yay.

Anyway, right now I am allllll kinds of tired considering that I've been up since 7 am and I spent all of my time from 3 pm to 8 walking to and from and around Wal-Mart. Hen hao! I will sleep well tonight...no class tomorrow, and I'm meeting with my tutor in the morning!